March 16, 2020
Week of March 8: Lyric Commentaries for opera streaming and more
To start the week off, our friends at WFMT will be doing a special radio presentation of our digital concert, Sole e Amore. Then, we’ll visit The Dallas Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and the National Museum of Mexican Art for their streaming offerings. We’ll also enjoy something new at Pittsburgh Opera with their digital concert, I, Too, Am America: The Music of William Grant Still and Florence Price.
On Saturday, we’ll join Opera Colorado for their digital double bill of Josephine and The Promise of Living. Remember to set your clocks ahead an hour on Saturday night, just in time for week two of San Francisco Opera’s virtual Ring cycle with Die Walküre on Sunday.
As you enjoy this week's set of streaming opportunities, you can explore Lyric Opera Commentaries, which discuss the synopses, music, and some historical insights of the world's most beloved operas, and musical masterpieces you might never have experienced.
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
Monday, March 8
Sole e Amore on WFMT
Beginning at 8pm CST, WFMT will be doing a radio presentation of our digital concert, Sole e Amore. Curated and hosted by Lyric’s Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola, Sole e Amore features lesser-known musical gems by Italian composers, and is presented by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center.
The Dallas Opera
Puccini: Tosca
This production from The Dallas Opera stars Emily Magee (a Ryan Opera Center alumna), Giancarlo Monsalve, Raymond Aceto, Dale Travis, Ryan Kuster, and was directed by Ellen Douglas Schlaefer. Tosca was conducted by Emmanuel Villaume in 2015.
Lyric Commentary from the 2014/15 Season is by Anthony Freud and Nicholas Ivor Martin.
Tosca
By Giacomo Puccini
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley Welsh Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2014/15 Lyric Opera Commentaries Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of Warner Music Group. All rights reserved. Recording and production services provided by Mark Travis.
A project of the Women’s Board
Commentary by Anthony Freud and Nicholas Ivor Martin
Tuesday, March 9
The Metropolitan Opera Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
This double bill from The Metropolitan Opera stars Eva-Maria Westbroek, Marcelo Álvarez, and George Gagnidze; Patricia Racette, Marcelo Álvarez, George Gagnidze, and Lucas Meachem, and was directed by Sir David McVicar. Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci were conducted by Fabio Luisi on April 25, 2015.
Lyric Commentary from the 2008/09 Season is by Sir Andrew Davis and Nicholas Ivor Martin.
Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci
By Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley Welsh Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2008/09 Lyric Opera Commentaries Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of Warner Music Group. All rights reserved. Recording and production services provided by Mark Travis.
A project of the Women’s Board
Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin
Wednesday, March 10
National Museum of Mexican Art
Mini Conciertos:
Rosalba Valdez
This virtual concert from the National Museum of Mexican Art features Rosalba Valdez, a Mexican-American musician from Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
Thursday, March 11
The Metropolitan Opera
Zandonai: Francesca da Rimini
This production from The Metropolitan Opera stars Eva-Maria Westbroek, Marcello Giordani, Robert Brubaker, and Mark Delavan, and was directed by Pierro Faggioni. Francesca da Rimini was conducted by Marco Armiliato on March 16, 2013.
Friday, March 12
Pittsburgh Opera
I, Too, Am America: The Music of William Grant Still and Florence Price
This digital concert from Pittsburgh Opera stars baritone Yazid Gray, accompanied by pianist Glenn Lewis, singing selection by William Grant Still and Florence Price. I, Too, Am America: The Music of William Grant Still and Florence Price was directed by Kaley Karis Smith. This opera stream will be available indefinitely.
Saturday, March 13
Opera Colorado
Cipullo: Josephine
Laquita Mitchell and Nmon Ford: The Promise of Living
This digital double bill from Opera Colorado stars soprano Laquita Mitchell in Josephine, a one-act opera that casts a spotlight on jazz-age icon and civil rights activist Josephine Baker; and in The Promise of Living, a multimedia program featuring music by Aaron Copland, Manuel de Falla, Florence Price, in collaboration with co-creator Nmon Ford and conductor Israel Gursky.
These digital productions are available to stream through March 18.
Sunday, March 14
San Francisco Opera
Wagner: Die Walküre
This performance from San Francisco Opera stars Iréne Theorin, Greer Grimsley, Karita Mattila, Brandon Jovanovich, Jamie Barton, and Raymond Aceto, and was directed by Francesca Zambello. Die Walküre was conducted by Donald Runnicles in 2018. This opera stream premieres on Saturday, March 13 at 12pm CT, and will be available through Friday, March 19.
Lyric Commentary from the 2017/18 Season is by Anthony Freud and Nicholas Ivor Martin.
Die Walküre
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley Welsh Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2017/18 Lyric Opera Commentaries Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of Warner Music Group. All rights reserved. Recording and production services provided by Mark Travis.
A project of the Women’s Board
Commentary by Anthony Freud in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin
Commentary by Colin Ure
Sole e Amore (Sun and Love)
Sole e Amore (Sun and Love)
Revel in the sounds of Italy with a virtual recital awash with beautiful lesser-known musical gems by beloved Italian opera composers, curated and hosted by Lyric’s Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola and presented by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. With Maestro Mazzola and Ensemble member Chris Reynolds alternating at the piano, members of the Ryan Opera Center 2020/21 Ensemble perform songs by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, and Mascagni, selected with love by Mazzola.
Creating The Factotum
Creating The Factotum
Follow the development of a new opera by Ryan Opera Center alumnus Will Liverman and DJ/recording artist K-Rico that transcends the limits of traditional repertoire. The Factotum, inspired by Rossini's The Barber of Seville, takes place in a present-day Black barbershop in Chicago and combines operatic singing with hip-hop, barbershop, gospel, funk, neo soul, and R&B music.
Chicago filmmaker Raphael Nash has captured the behind-the-scenes process of creating this new work and brings us backstage to meet the artists, hear from the creators, and feel the energy of a new opera being born.
Pasión Latina
Pasión Latina
Celebrate music of the Spanish-speaking world with a free virtual concert starring and hosted by renowned soprano and Lyric favorite Ana María Martínez, and featuring Ryan Opera Center artists and alumni.
These engaging artists perform a dynamic selection of some of their favorite music from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Argentina, and Spain, with piano accompaniment by Ryan Opera Center Music Director Craig Terry and current Ensemble pianist Chris Reynolds.
Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter
Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter
Lyric's Ryan Opera Center presents a free virtual concert celebrating the depth and breadth of Black artistry, hosted by world-renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who also serves as artistic advisor for the event. The concert also features prominent Ryan Opera Center alumni—soprano Whitney Morrison, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, and baritone Will Liverman—and three current 2020/21 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble members—tenors Martin Luther Clark and Lunga Eric Hallam, and baritone Leroy Davis.